Happy Birthday
by Mimi-dudette
Summary: That particular morning was very important to Hikaru and Kaoru. And they've finally found someone they want to spend it with. Unfortunately, she doesn't. HikaHaruKao Friendship, Slight HikaHaru :3
1. Prologue

**Happy Birthday**

**Summary: **I need Hikaru. Hikaru needs me. All we need is each other. Because there'll never be anyone else.

**A/N: **Things suck at the moment. I have an urge to write and loads of little ideas but nothing to string them all together to make a story. I need a plot, dammit. D: But heydeho. As it's my birthday next week –insert faces of joy and sparkly things here- I decided to write this here drabble of pre-host twins! Woo! :D I may decide to just extend this instead of hurting my brain any longer. XD

* * *

**I hope you enjoy! Please review and tell me what you think :]**

* * *

We are one single entirety.

This is absolute.

We are also two individual people.

This is also absolute.

Hikaru and I are so similar that we are unmistakably a pair; an iron clad set that works perfectly as one.

Hikaru and I are so different that our differences lock together flawlessly to create one whole person.

We are exactly the same. But we are entirely different.

This is absolute.

It's not our fault if the world doesn't understand.

I glance silently over to Hikaru, whose sitting curled next to me as he stares religiously at the clock, his eyes following the slow ticking of its hands. Our hands are clasped together between us, familiar and comforting; I can feel our grip getting tighter and tighter as the time ticks by, but I'm not sure which one of us is doing it. There's something lonely and desperately longing around us that presses down on us mercilessly, hanging menacingly in the air.

I think I'm the only one who realises what it is.

After a long pause, I look back to the clock.

It's almost time. We're waiting for that split second when the most obvious and overlooked difference between us is most recognisable, waiting for it in an expectant dread. We relish in our subtle differences, yet the thought of not being exactly identical scares us to death.

Though it's silly and disregarded by other people, it's important to us and it's our yearly tradition to stay up until those specific times toll by.

It's not like we care what other people think anyway.

Other people aren't worth our time.

The rest of the world merely sees us as 'the twins', 'Hikaru and Kaoru', 'the Hitachiin brothers'. They blindly see us as two copies of the same thing and can't even be bothered to notice the delicate and subtle differences between us that keep us locked together. They can't be bothered.

Idiotic. Hateful.

Why should we bother with them?

It's not like we care.

We've locked ourselves away from the rest of the world with a gnarled, strong lock, that's too complicated and worked on to ever be broken through by the idiots we're forced to associate with; adults who don't really care and peers who only want to get close to our family name. The only person we let in stabbed us with truthful words and left.

We don't want to be hurt anymore.

So we've cut everyone else out.

I like it like this, and the thought of our world ever splitting open horrifies both of us. I never want our close, boxed-in relationship to change and open itself to the hurt of the world. And yet...

And yet I can feel it. It's hanging in the air and slowly cutting off our oxygen. It's murdering us so sweetly, I feel like crying. I don't think Hikaru realises.

I can feel our twisted isolation pressing down painfully on my heart.

It's all such a ridiculous contradiction.

Another minute passes and Hikaru turns to me with a sheepish smile, eyes soft with fond acceptance; _No_, I think slowly to myself as I smile back, _he doesn't realise_. And I'm too scared to break apart our isolated, dark and entirely loving world on my own. It's not like we have anyone else to fall back on and cherish so completely anyway.

No-one but us will be able to tell us apart. No-one but us will be able to understand us. No-one but us will be able to accept us as twisted as we are.

And we accept that.

Hikaru sniggers and talks about that girl at school on the day we broke up, who utterly fell for our usual mix up, then grew almost hysterical in frustration. I can see her now, the mortified tears flowing down her ugly face, scrunched up in embarrassed anger as she throws flimsy insults at us. We were laughing then and we laugh again now, so, so hard.

Because it's so, so funny.

She thought she could get close to us, break into our world with her whimsy, misunderstanding intentions. She thought she could gloss over our twisted outlook on life and just have one of us hanging off her arm like an accessory. She thought she didn't need to look close enough to see those subtle differences between us.

She's so stupid.

She's the same as everyone else.

We grin at each other then look back at the clock through tired eyes, naturally and comfortably in-sync. We lean so completely on each other that I can't see our utter dependence ever ending. I need Hikaru and he needs me. All we need is each other.

Because there'll never be anyone else.

Never.

Hikaru shuffles closer and entwines our fingers and I laugh.

I'm so very happy.

But it's all so very sad.

Do you understand?

The first of the times finally tick by, but neither of us say anything as we wait impatiently for the next to hurry up; in the gap between the times we feel uncomfortably different and our hands are clasped together tighter than ever, as though we just want to melt away and finally just be one. We have no-one but each other and sometimes that fact is maddeningly lonely. But I wouldn't change our bond for the world.

I look over at my twin and softly speak to break the heavy silence.

"Happy Birthday, Hikaru."


	2. Yes or No?

**A/N: **I decided to continue! Woo! This story is only going to be six chapters long but I hope you'll like it. =] It also (apart from the prologue, obviously) takes place in Haruhi and the twin's second year. Please review and tell me what you think and I hope you enjoy it :P Next chapter up soon!

**Dedication: **This story is dedicated to Mariel, who gave me the idea. She is a totally awesometastic friend. ^^ I love you~~! XD

* * *

"Happy Birthday to _us~_!"

"Happy Birthday to _us~_!"

"Happy Birthday dear _you-and-me~~_!"

"Happy Birthday to _us~_!"

Haruhi twitched at the amused sprinkle of applause from the rest of her soon-departing classmates at Hikaru and Kaoru's enthusiastic rehearsal of their self composed song. She glanced up from her test paper to find both twins perched on the edge of her desk, frowning down at her in disbelief.

"Haruhi, quit checking your test papers!" Hikaru whined chidingly, promptly grabbing her pen away from her (much to her annoyance).

"Yeah, didn't you hear our song?" Kaoru added, shaking his head dramatically at her as he took her pen off his twin and held it out of her reach.

"I tried not to." She drawled, thoroughly irritated as she glared at her pen, as though she hoped they would surrender under the power of her glare and give it back.

No such luck.

They both lazily draped themselves over her desk, each throwing out a hand dramatically as they began to happily sing 'Happy Birthday' to themselves again.

Haruhi sighed.

Though it was the last lesson of the day, she had decided to stay behind for a while to quickly go over her test paper, as she hadn't had the chance to yet. As she had hoped, most of the class had already happily left, wanting their free time to start as soon as possible. But, as she had feared, the Hitachiin twins had apparently decided that the best thing they could do to help her, would be to stay behind with her.

Sigh.

Even worse, they were in an even more hyper mood than usual today, as it was almost their birthday and they had consequently spent the whole day singing about the joys of being almost-seventeen.

"Are you going to buy us lots of commoner presents, Ha-ru-_hi~~_?"

"Ooh, I think you should give us both a birthday kiss, Ha-ru-_hi~~_!"

"Do you two share a brain?"

They both grinned and simply stuck a tongue out childishly at her comment (reinforcing it, in Haruhi's opinion).

Rolling her eyes and giving up on her test paper as a lost cause, she irritably stood up, promptly snatching her pen out of Kaoru's hand and walking primly over to the teacher's desk. Hearing the unmistakable sounds of two pairs of feet behind her, she quickly placed the paper in a drawer and hoped the teacher would let her look over it tomorrow instead.

Two arms suddenly slung themselves around her shoulders as the twins sandwiched her between them, looking unusually thoughtful. Hikaru, as always, began.

"Hey, listen Haruhi..."

"...we want to ask you something." Kaoru finished, giving her a sheepish grin.

Haruhi remained silent, simply cocking a sceptical eyebrow at their words.

"Well..." Kaoru continued, glancing over at his brother who was apparently going to let him say it. "We want you to come round for our birthday."

_It's just that?_ Haruhi paused suspiciously as she glanced between them, before saying hesitantly; "I am anyway, aren't I? Tamaki's organising the whole club to come round for a party, remember?"

"Yeah well, we want you to come round before that. For a... uh..."

"A sleepover!" Hikaru finally spoke up bravely, cringing as he measured her reaction.

As expected, Haruhi's face instantly deadpanned, unimpressed.

"No."

"But--"

"No. Way."

"It's just that--"

"There is no way in _hell_ that I am _ever_ going to your house overnight. Forget it."

And with that, Haruhi ducked out of their arms, grabbed her bag and quickly walked out, sighing at the persistent idiocy of her classmates. She could only imagine what they'd be like if she actually _slept over_ at their house.

Never mind the fit Tamaki would throw if he heard.

For a second, the twins just pouted as they watched her storm off, obviously sulking at her point-blank refusal. Eventually, Hikaru shifted over to Kaoru and lent an arm on his shoulder, lips twitching evilly as he muttered as casually as he could;

"No way in hell, huh...?"

Instantly catching onto his brother's tone, Kaoru smirked impishly back.

"Well, we _are_ the devil brothers."

"And that's a challenge if I've ever heard one."

* * *

The next morning, Haruhi was standing in front of her rarely used locker, struggling with the small key as she balanced her books dangerously on the crook of her elbow. Though she hadn't actually opened her locker that much in her time at Ouran, she did put it to use on occasion when, like today, she was physically weighted down with the amount of books she needed.

Finally managing to jam the silver key into the small door, she, after flashing a quick smile at a few girls who annoyingly chose that moment to start waving at her, yanked it open.

And her locker exploded.

As in, literally.

"What the--?!" But her words were muffled by the huge thing that had suddenly blasted out of her locker, knocking her to the floor.

She let out a small yelp as she landed and her books and papers scattered over the floor.

"Oh my gosh!"

"Haruhi, are you okay?"

"What _is_ that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Haruhi managed to mumble, blinking in bewilderment at the huge thing she was trying to shove off her. It was long and heavy, made out of a thick, cushioned material and—

Oh.

What was something like _that _doing stuffed into her locker?

Perplexed, she hurriedly threw it off and scrambled up, smiling appreciatively at a few girls who had kindly collected her now rumpled-looking books for her, looking concerned.

"Thank you, ladies..."

"Oh, no problem, Haruhi." One of them simpered almost giddily, before she gave her locker a worried look. "Um... forgive me for asking but... is that... yours?"

"No." Haruhi said firmly, giving the padded fabric an annoyed look; what was she supposed to do with it? She couldn't just _leave it_ there. "And it's called a sleeping bag. And a heavy duty one at that." She added with a frown. "But I've honestly never seen it before in my life."

_Why on earth is there a--?_

"Oh, we've heard of them." Two devilish voices suddenly sounded gleefully behind her, making her twitch in irritated realisation.

_I'm going to kill them._

"Sleeping bags. Commoners use them for camping."

"Or for sleeping over at someone's house."

"..."

"Is it _yours_, Haruhi?"

"What _are_ you using it for, Haruhi?"

"..."

"Are you _possibly_ sleeping over..."

"At _someone's_ house...?"

"_I said __**no**__!_"

* * *

The twins didn't give up.

Apart from asking her again every chance they got (and whenever Tamaki was out of earshot), they had been researching (making Tamaki research) what commoners did on sleepovers; they were prepared to simply annoy her death if that was what it took to get her to go.

And if the twins knew anything, it was how to annoy people to death.

"A... beer bottle?!"

Haruhi stared, dumfounded, at the cheap, empty bottle in the corner of the club room, where she had been tiding up after another day of hosting; everyone else had already left. The bottle seemed so out of place in the prim, expensive room, that for a second she simply blinked at it, until she suddenly noticed a piece of paper curled up inside.

Instantly getting a bad feeling, she hesitantly picked it up and hooked the note out, already half-knowing what she'd find on it.

And, of course, she was right.

_Hey Haruhi, commoners use bottles in truth and dare, don't they? You can have this bottle, free of charge, to bring to our sleepover! ;D_

_Love, H and K x_

Twitching, and suddenly getting the creeping feeling she wasn't as alone as she'd thought, Haruhi promptly grabbed a pen, flipped the paper over, and wrote the worst swear word she could think of on the back.

That done, she smugly slipped the note inside the bottle again and walked out of the room, leaving the bottle on a table and collecting her bag on the way. She hadn't managed to even get to the end of the corridor when she heard two simultaneous voices from the 'empty' music room shout in dismay;

"Haruhi wrote a bad word!"

* * *

For the next three days, Haruhi found seven separate sets of pyjamas somehow making their way into her bag without her knowing, each one a vibrant colour that flawlessly managed to catch everyone's attention each time she found a pair in her bag.

Irritated beyond belief, Haruhi never failed to then throw them viciously at the nearest Hitachiin's face before stalking off to the library, grumbling under her breath.

And, every time, both twins would then burst into complete hysterics, despite the resounding 'no' Haruhi left in her wake.

* * *

Haruhi once tried confronting them outright, demanding to know why they were being so impossibly childish and stubborn about the 'sleepover' when she was coming round for their party anyway. They had then, of course, indignantly claimed complete innocence, acting offended that she dared even think that _they,_ of all people, was behind it all.

Like it would be anyone else.

"I'm not an idiot." She drawled, annoyed. "And you should seriously just stop. I've already told you I'm not coming."

Hikaru smirked devilishly, and, with a dramatic fake-sigh, threw an arm on Haruhi's head. "Ah, but you see, Haru," He grinned, poking her cheek as Kaoru happily mirrored his actions. "We hear what you're saying. But we just don't get what you mean."

"I'm not coming."

"Well, we _hear_ you..."

"And I _mean _I'm not coming."

"Nope, I still don't get it. Do you, Kaoru?"

"Maybe 'I'm not coming' is commoner language for 'I _am_ coming'." Kaoru suggested, fruitlessly trying to keep a straight face for long enough to frown in mockingly deep thought. Hikaru instantly beamed.

"An excellent idea, Kaoru!"

"Give me a break." Haruhi sighed irritably, resisting the urge to slap them both around the head. "I. Am. Not. Coming. That's it."

"Commoner language is so confusing..."

"Do you mean you _are _coming, Haruhi?"

"No."

"Yes?"

"_No._"

"Yes?"

"_No!_"

"Hm? You want to sleepover at ours for every single day of your life, you say?"

"...I hate you both."

"Aw, we love you too, Haruhi~!"

Haruhi stopped trying to confront them.

* * *

...Until the next day.

The twins were just relaxing and discussing Haruhi's stubbornness (like they could talk) in an empty classroom, Hikaru perched on the window sill and Kaoru sitting on his desk, when Haruhi burst furiously into the room, sporting a glare that could take down an army. Her hair was slightly ruffled and her face was pink in angry embarrassment as she pointed viciously at the vibrant, half destroyed, racoon-shaped piñata in her hand.

"_What_," She snapped, temper officially hit. "has a _piñata _even got to _do_ with a damn sleepover?!"

"Uh..." Hikaru quickly glanced at his twin before giving her a sheepish look, flinching slightly under the sudden power of her glare and trying desperately not to laugh. "Milord said commoners like having--"

"Why would this even be _needed_ at a sleepover?!"

"Milord must have... uh, fed us false information. So really, it's Milord's fault." Kaoru spoke up, his nervous laughter instantly dying when Haruhi turned her furious look to him. "We--"

"Timed a piñata to explode over my head in the middle of the library!"

In the twin's defence, it did look pretty funny.

For a second, there was an expectant pause, Haruhi wondering whether Kyouya could cover up a double murder, and the twins wondering what would happen if they started laughing. Finally, Hikaru, as usual, brought it upon himself to break the silence and muttered hesitantly; "So... uh, are you going to sleep over at ours, then?"

"Oh, for God's sake. _No_! No, I'm not!" She retorted, dropping the abused piñata on Kaoru's desk.

"Then," Hikaru snapped back irritably before Kaoru could stop him. "It's your fault too."

"How can you _possibly_ make this my fault?"

"You're refusing to come to see us on our birthday!"

"I _am_ coming to see you. Just not over night!"

"That doesn't count!"

"Of course it does!"

"We want you there in the morning!"

"Why?!"

They both finally lapsed into silence, Hikaru sulking, annoyed, and Haruhi frustrated, completely lost with his reasoning. After a long pause, Kaoru decided to step in and grinned at her sheepishly, hooking an arm around his irritated brother's shoulders.

"Because we were born in the morning Haruhi." He smiled wisely. "It's our tradition to stay up through the morning until we're born. No-one's ever spent it with us, but we want you to. Please?"

She raised a sceptical eyebrow, still slightly disgruntled. "And why did you feel the need to do all _that _to me before you told me?"

"We tried to." Hikaru sniffed. "But you wouldn't let us speak."

"Well, _I_ didn't know you were actually going to say something worth listening to."

He scowled.

"And that's still a stupid reason." She added, mercilessly blunt, as she rolled her eyes at their identical pouts.

"So, you definitely don't want to come?" Kaoru mumbled sadly (apparently, he had only just got the hint), arms still slung round his brother.

After giving them a slow 'duh' look, she sighed tiredly, perplexed at the genuinely miserable look echoed on both of their faces. Was inviting her to spend the morning with them _really_ that important...?

She groaned disbelievingly to herself, already regretting her next words.

"Fine."

They blinked at her.

"...What?"

"Fine. I'll go."

"You'll go...?

"To spend your stupid morning with you. I'll go."

"... S-seriously?!"

"Yes."

"You mean it?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes and gave the dumbfounded twins a firm look, steeling herself for the explosion she knew would follow her words. "I don't say what I don't mean." She said simply. "And, I'll go."

...

"_YEY!!_"

Grinning like maniacs, Hikaru and Kaoru both jumped up and enthusiastically launched themselves at her, cuddling her between them lovingly. They were squeezing her so eagerly, it was all she could do to keep breathing.

"Thank you!" They sang happily as they snuggled her neck, their intermingled voices overflowing with an amazing amount of sincerity for being so hyper. "Yey, yey! Thank you, Haruhi~! Thank you so, so much, Haruhi~!"

Haruhi sighed, allowing her lips a twitch of exasperated amusement before a sudden thought occurred to her and she frowned at them, raising an eyebrow.

"But," She said sternly to both beaming twins (Hikaru was blushing lightly though she didn't seem to notice). "I'm not playing truth or dare, strip poker, or anything else that's going through your perverted minds right now."

They pouted.

"Spoil sport."


	3. It's Not Kidnapping, It's Taking Her Out

**It's Not Kidnapping, It's Taking Her Out**

* * *

**AN:** Next chapter! More of a filler chapter than anything else, but there you go. The title amused me. Simple things do amuse simple minds...

**Also!** Do read WorldsAngel's story 'Scratching the Surface' which is a brilliant collection of one shots about all the cannon characters and some sub-characters. No real pairings, so it's safe for all! XD It has my seal of sparkly awesome approval! *0*  
...meaning the story's awesome, not me. Anyway, do check it out! :D

* * *

**Enjoy~**

* * *

"So... tell me again why Hikaru's on his way to kidnap me."

"To take you out to buy my birthday present."

Haruhi paused and frowned at her mobile, waiting rather irritably for him to elaborate. She had been enjoying her free afternoon by reading, only lazily getting up to do a chore or two when she found the motivation; she would have been happy to spend the whole day like that, if a certain Hitachiin hadn't rang up and promptly destroyed her peace.

Her brow furrowed into a glare when she heard Kaoru chuckle, annoyingly amused.

"You see," He began with a dramatic sigh, "I always know what Hikaru's getting me every year because he makes it _really_ obvious, like leaving the order form on our computer's history and stuff. He figured that if he goes with you to get it from a shop, I won't find out what it is." He explained wisely, pausing thoughtfully before he began sniggering again. "'Course, I already know what he's getting me."

Haruhi cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh? What would that be?"

"A writing set." He announced, obviously chuffed that he still managed to work it out.

_A writing set...?_ Haruhi rolled her eyes exasperatedly at his smug confidence, as she regretfully put her book away; she had a feeling there wouldn't be any more time for reading today. "Do you write, Kaoru? And how do you know he's getting you that?"

Deciding to completely dodge her first question, Kaoru laughed again at the thought of his twin. "Because he makes it _obvious_. He keeps smiling to himself when I write _anything_ down, and he told me the other day that it's impossible to write without something good to write with." He paused before musingly adding; "Ne, he's probably going to buy me a new I-pod too. He has _issues_ against mine for some reason."

"I see..."

_I think Kaoru's definition of obvious and the world's definition of obvious are two different things._

Deciding to change the subject, Haruhi sat back, shifting the phone to her other ear as she tried to get comfortable. "So, do you know what you're getting Hikaru? You both already have everything..."

"Mm, I know what I'm getting him, but it's a secret."

"Okay."

There was a long, expectant pause.

"... What, aren't you even going to _try _and get me to tell you what it is?"

He sounded slightly exasperated and let out a disbelieving snort when she drawled back, completely uninterested; "Uh, why should I?"

"Aren't you the tiniest bit curious?"

"Not really. I'll see it when I come round anyway."

"...Huh. You're so boring, Haruhi." Kaoru mumbled, half sulky and half amused.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and was about to retort back with some crushingly blunt comment, when she suddenly froze at the sound of enthusiastic steps outside her door. And, as whomever it was seemed to be skipping (Why? The world may never know), there was really only one person it could be.

Haruhi sighed. "Hikaru's here. Wonderful. Tell me why again?"

"Because he's taking you out to-"

"No, tell me why I'm actually going to go."

She frowned irritably when Kaoru began to laugh, obviously highly amused at the whole situation. "Because you can get my present today too! And you'll amuse him for the day so I finish some homework."

She scowled.

"Kao-"

"Uh-oh, got to go~! If I'm right about his presents, I want a Haruhi-made bento box, okay Haru?"

"No chance."

Rolling her eyes as Hikaru began to enthusiastically rap his knuckles against her door, Haruhi tiredly bid her goodbyes to Kaoru and absentmindedly placed her rarely-used mobile on the sideboard. As she walked over to answer the door (sigh), a sudden thought occurred to her and she gave her clothes a sceptical glance.

As she had thought she'd be doing nothing but lazing around, she hadn't exactly made an effort with her appearance (not that she generally made much of an effort anyway); she was wearing some rumpled leggings and a casual pair of shorts, her top half completely swamped in a baggy t-shirt. She considered them for a second before shrugging dismissively.

_Knock, knock._

They were clothes and they were comfortable.

_Knock, knock._

They'd do.

_Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock._

"Alright already! Stop being so impatient, Hikaru!"

Steeling herself for the worst, she finally opened the door and came face-to-face with the oldest Hitachiin twin, who was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he grinned down at her delightedly. He was (expensively) clad in some ripped skinny jeans and a plain, white tank top, a red patterned shirt shrugged casually over his shoulders and rolled up to the elbow. Both wrists were practically covered with strips of brown leather that matched his complicated-looking sandals.

Haruhi could only imagine how much it all cost.

"Hey Ha-ru-hi~~!" Hikaru practically sang, smirking gleefully at her sceptical look. "I'm here to--!"

"-take me out."

"Yeah! To buy K--!"

"-Kaoru's birthday present."

"How'd you--?"

"Kaoru phoned me."

"...Oh."

Her lips twitching slightly in amusement at his suddenly stumped look, Haruhi moved back slightly to let him step inside, rolling her eyes at his uncertain glance.

"I only trust you alone in here for a second." She assured him with a raised eyebrow as he quickly trotted in, surprised but happy with the rare invitation to come inside. "I just need to get a jacket and write a note to my dad and we can go."

_If I try to protest, I'll just be prolonging the annoyance. Or rather, the torture._

Turning her back on him to face the sideboard, Haruhi hurriedly grabbed a ball point pen and a scrap of paper; she quickly wrote a short note to her father, only pausing to stop herself including the words 'kidnap', 'brats' and 'damn rich bastards with way too much damn free time for getting so damn worked up about their damn joint birthday'. Suddenly hearing a suspicious _flump_ behind her, she frowned and glanced over her shoulder, after scribbling her name on the edge of the paper.

Hikaru had flopped down on the floor, next to the table, and was lazily shifting through some of her papers with his usual total disrespect for her privacy.

Haruhi cocked a bemused eyebrow.

"Comfy?" She drawled sarcastically.

"Not really." He snorted, giving her an almost reproachful look. "You really need to invest in a sofa. Or just let me buy you one. This floor's too hard."

Twitching, she shot him an irritated glare, irritably cursing the power of money. "Well, I apologise for the _hardness_ of my floor." She snapped, snatching a plain jacket from the side. "We can go now anyway, so you don't need to put any further pressure on your spoilt little _ar_--"

"What do you mean, we're going now?"

"Huh?"

She stopped and stared blankly at him, her sudden confusion mirrored perfectly in his face. For a second, the two just blinked at each other, completely perplexed, until Hikaru's impatience finally broke the silence, and his brow furrowed into a frown.

"Aren't you... aren't you getting changed?" He muttered uncertainly, staring rather pointedly at her scruffy attire.

Realising what he was getting at, Haruhi snorted dismissively, clearly showing off her opinion of the matter.

Hikaru's frown deepened.

"I'm taking you out." He reminded her.

"I'm aware."

"Shopping."

"I guessed."

"And maybe for something to eat."

"Wonderful."

"...So, are you going to change?"

Haruhi sighed in irritation, glaring at his insistent look. Kaoru had been like this too, on the morning of her and Hikaru's first 'date', demanding that she wore what he picked out for her and not taking no for an answer. They were only going shopping; who _cared _what she looked like?

...

Who apart-from-the-twins cared what she looked like?

"I'm not getting changed." Haruhi said in a final sort of way. "There's no point."

Hikaru jutted his lip out in a sulk and started eying her wardrobe, a dangerous glint in his eye.

In the end, Haruhi got changed.

She never looked at her wardrobe the same way again.

* * *

"...Hey, Hikaru?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you planning to buy Kaoru?"

"Just the most ingenious surprise presents ever."

"...Which are...?"

"A cool writing set, since he always seems to be writing, and a new orange I-pod, since the music on his sucks. Seriously, Kaoru shouldn't be left to his own devises when it comes to music. I'll put some _good_ songs on it."

"Ah..."

"I'm such a genius."

"...I'm still not making him a bento box."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing."


	4. Dance with me

**Dance with me!**

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay~ I wasn't happy with this chapter at first, so I had to re-write it about three times. XD Hopefully, you'll like it :D By the way, the first section is in Hikaru's point of view (which was fun to write 8D ) and the rest is in third person. Enjoy~~

* * *

Kaoru once told me, after we went round to Haruhi's house to find her chatting to _Arai_ in her room and I had thrown a complete (and, I feel, totally justified) fit, that I get too emotional to see things clearly.

"_You get too involved in what you're feeling to take a step back and recognise things, like even your own emotions, for what they are." He sighed, giving me this slow, hard look. "I don't know whether this lack of perspective is idiotic or just childish..."_

"_And I don't know what you're going on about." I snapped back irritably, collapsing on my bed in a sulk._

_For a second, Kaoru just continued staring thoughtfully at me and I promptly ignored him and his stupid, know-it-all look, grumpily going over the events of the day in my head. Eventually, he spoke up again, his tone almost conversational._

"_Haruhi's probably angry at you."_

"_So? I'll apologise to her tomorrow."_

"_But you shouldn't have gotten her angry in the first place, you know?"_

"_Well, I couldn't help it." I grumbled, glaring at random patch of wall as I felt the prior irritation well up threateningly again. "What the hell does he think he's doing, going over to her _house_? And why did she let him? Does she like him better than us?"_

_Kaoru's voice suddenly turned almost cold._

"_Well, why do _you_ care?"_

"_Because--!"_

_I whipped my head round furiously to retort back at him for asking such a _stupid_ question, but my mind suddenly blanked out and my throat froze up. I honestly couldn't think of anything to finish that sentence. I didn't know._

"_It's just--!"_

_I tried again, frustrated that I couldn't think of a response to such a blatantly obvious sounding question. But I still couldn't word an answer. 'Because she's our toy' just didn't seem to work anymore. All I could think of was the anger and frustration and hurt drowning out my mind and clogging up my senses, spinning round my head like a swam of wasps._

"_I--!"_

_I couldn't work out how to word those passionate, muddled feelings._

_Why did I care?_

_I didn't know._

_After a second, I looked away from Kaoru and glared back at the wall._

_He sighed heavily and, after another pregnant pause, walked over to the bed slowly, treading lightly over the floor. I didn't move, because I already knew what he was doing. He half-lay on the bed right next to me, and began to run his hand slowly through my hair, letting his fingers thread though it and making it ruffle softly against my scalp._

_My eyes slid closed, instantly comforted, and I leaned slightly into his touch, wanting the clearly loving familiarity it brought. I slowly let out a tense breath that I didn't know I'd been holding and I felt Kaoru shuffle even closer, almost protectively, as he muttered; "You're such a moron..."_

_In the arms of my twin, I could forget all the confusing and dramatic emotions that stabbed at me insistently; I didn't need to wonder or second guess at things with Kaoru._

_But it wasn't long until his question began to haunt me again._

_Why _did_ I care?_

"_I love you."_

"_Love you too, Kaoru..."

* * *

_

It wasn't a date.

And he didn't want it to be.

Though Haruhi _had_ been making him feel and _act_ a bit strange lately.

Hikaru glanced subtly over to her as she smiled in amusement at a group of elaborate street performers, who were giving them an impressive show of dance-style gymnastics.

They were, instead of at Haruhi's local shops or the designer stores that Hikaru was used to, at a small shopping district full of more high-quality labels, though nothing that Hikaru wouldn't obnoxiously write off as '_commoner's_'. The oldest Hitachiin had already ordered his gifts, as when he got to the shops he'd realised that he really couldn't be bothered with carrying everything, so he had just signed for it to be delivered instead; he would just have to make sure he was the one who was at home to collect it. As he'd boasted, he had gotten Kaoru a bright orange I-pod and a hand-made writing set that was dyed with soft woody colours, its design full of subtle little details that he felt his twin would appreciate.

Haruhi however, was still at a complete loss as to what she should get people who already had everything and was still searching every shop they wandered across in vain for an idea. Surprisingly, Hikaru's advice of '_just get us something we _don't _have_' didn't really help.

They had been casually tasting their recently purchased drinks (him slurping an electric blue Slushie that just tasted of sugar and her sipping a fresh and decisively more sensible orange juice) and looking around the shops when the male group's act had caught their eye. Haruhi had curiously gravitated towards them and Hikaru had no choice but to skulk after her.

He scowled when they did some sort of flip (he wasn't exactly paying attention) and the whole crowd, including Haruhi, burst into appreciative applause, all _ooh_ing and _aah_ing like a bunch of giddy sheep. Hikaru, needless to say, wasn't so easily impressed.

Partly because Haruhi was giving them so much attention.

Mostly because Haruhi was giving them so much attention _and_ they were all annoyingly shirtless.

_Damn commoners._

"Haru_hi~_" He whined obnoxiously, poking her side like a child trying desperately to be noticed. "This is _boring_. Stop ogling at them and let's go and look at that shop over there."

She paused and spared him an irritated glance, rolling her eyes before looking back to the act. "I'm not _ogling_ them, Hikaru. It's a good performance."

"It's the most boring thing I've ever seen." He grumbled stubbornly.

"Shut up and let _me_ watch it then." Haruhi shot back flawlessly, now not even sparing him a glance. "At least until the end of the routine."

He pouted sulkily in defeat until he suddenly noticed the lead dancer smirking mockingly at him, having apparently overheard their conversation. His pout hardened into a full-on glare when the dancer paused to wink suggestively at Haruhi, causing the girls around her to giggle. Haruhi however, was completely oblivious and simply clapped innocently when he went to jump onto another's back then back-flipped off in one fluid movement.

"They're so flexible." Haruhi commented in awe.

Hikaru crudely grumbled something else they were under his breath and she shot him a reproachful look.

As Haruhi stubbornly went back to watching the dance, Hikaru forced his mind to wander before he punched the lead right in his stupid button nose. For some reason, he found himself thinking back to that time he had met Arai in Haruhi's apartment and had grown amazingly irritated, leading to Kaoru practically telling him off that night.

"_Well, why do _you_ care?"_

He hadn't been able to find a way to word an answer back then, and that frustrated feeling came back to him now as he fruitlessly questioned himself.

_Why_ was he getting so irritated and overly possessive?

It was only some commoner street dancer, giving Haruhi suggestive looks that she was completely oblivious to. Sure, he might be exotic looking and handsome and half-_freaking_-naked, but since when did Haruhi care about any of that? And in any case, Haruhi was only his friend, she wasn't _his_, so why should it bother him even if she _did_ like him?

If that happened, all that he was required to do was to laugh at her atrociously bad taste.

Right.

But even so, he couldn't help snorting as loudly and rudely as he could when the whole troupe suddenly broke into some weird swaying motions and he hissed over to Haruhi; "This is so stupid. _I_ could do better than that."

She instantly scoffed and gave him an unconvinced glance, cocking an eyebrow. "Go on then." She drawled. "Impress me."

"I don't feel like it." He sniffed, as though he was above the very _idea_.

She was snorting and rolling her eyes dramatically when there was a sudden and exited gasp from the giddy group of girls around them and they both blinked. Hikaru scowled and twitched furiously when he spotted the lead dancer swaggering over and whipping a rose out from apparently thin air with a dramatic flourish, a suave glint in his eye.

Hikaru was determined not to lose his temper.

"For you, _hermosa dama_." He purred teasingly with a Spanish twang, smiling seductively as he held the rose out to Haruhi.

Hikaru lost his temper.

_That stupid ******* ******* can **** off away from my Haruhi, the ******* sleazy ******* player. **** him._

And with that child-friendly thought, Hikaru viciously grabbed Haruhi's hand and angrily pushed his way through the crowd, forcefully dragging her after him. He carried on grumbling irritably under his breath, apparently deaf to Haruhi's annoyed protests and the amused laughs behind them, until they finally got inside a random shop (which happened to be stocked with high quality and expensive, in Haruhi's world, foods). Haruhi finally got to snatch her hand back and she shot him a disbelieving glare.

"For God's sake!" She snapped, twitching. "What was _that_ for?"

"I saved you! That guy was practically going to start _making out _with you at any second!" Hikaru instantly retorted back angrily. "It was gross!"

"It was only a rose! It was probably part of their act!"

"Oh my God, you're so dense. How many _other _girls did he randomly hit on in the middle of their dance?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She deadpanned dully, so (in Hikaru's opinion) _blind _to any sort of advance that he had to repress the urge to scream.

Finally, they both lapsed into a tense silence, both glaring angrily at the other, though Hikaru was suddenly confused to whom he was supposed to be angry with. Eventually, Haruhi gave up with a sigh and a tired shake of her head, supposing that she _really _should be past questioning the weird actions of her fellow hosts. Still hearing titters from outside (everyone was still highly amused after the antics of what they assumed was an easily-jealous boyfriend), Haruhi decided to hold off going outside for the moment and absentmindedly glanced around the shop, looking for any potential presents for both twins.

She looked.

She thought.

She frowned.

And then she knew what to get, in a weirdly sudden and long-awaited moment of brilliant inspiration.

She smiled in relief and, feeling slightly smug, she turned to tell Hikaru when she noticed the dramatic change of expression on his face. While it had just been furrowed and irritated, he now looked soft and almost nervous; his frown was now born from quiet fluster instead of irrational anger.

"Uh… Haru?" He muttered, peering at her.

Too used to her classmates' wild U-turns in mood to really be thrown off, Haruhi just cocked an expectant eyebrow in response. "Yes?"

"You know… you know you're my best friend, don't you?"

Haruhi paused and blinked in surprise as he looked back sheepishly, as though he expected to be told off; whatever she had been expecting him to say, it sure hadn't been that. There was a slow pause as Hikaru sweated and Haruhi stared at him, but eventually she graced him with a small smile. "Apart from Kaoru?" She added for him, her tone now sceptical, but still managing to sound strangely fond.

Hikaru laughed nervously, hurriedly rubbing the back of his neck as he flashed a quick grin. "Yeah… 'Part from Kaoru."

She laughed lightly and, feeling it expected from her after such an out-of-character admission from the oldest twin, she muttered softly in response; "I suppose you and Kaoru count as my best friends." She admitted, before snorting and adding bluntly; "Even though you're the most annoying people I know."

Developing a sudden case of selective hearing, Hikaru decided to just ignore that last comment and beamed delightedly down at her, looking both relieved and smug.

_I suppose you and Kaoru count as my best friends._

_My best friends._

Something in the pit of his stomach suddenly warmed and squirmed happily in approval at her words. And although such foreign feelings of affection were something he usually tried to violently deny to himself, he now found himself simply going along with it. Truth be told, he rather enjoyed the happy and affectionate longing that awoke deep in his heart as he lent over to her, blushing and smirking, until their noses were only an inch apart.

"Aww, so you _do_ care, Haruhi~~" He teased, to which she rolled her eyes tiredly.

"Occasionally."

"So, you think-- huh? Only _occasionally_? What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Go and grab a basket, would you Hikaru? I've got a few things to buy."

"…You're so cold, Haruhi…"

"Whatever."

* * *

It wasn't a date.

_It's-not-a-date-it's-not-a-date-it's-not-a-date._

"It's raining." Hikaru observed wisely, to which Haruhi shot him an irritated look.

"Your powers of observation amaze me." She drawled.

It was, as Hikaru had so brilliantly pointed out, raining. Though they had been blessed with warm weather all day, the air had now grown stuffy and humid and mountains of heavy grey cloud had rolled in, spilling over almost the entire sky. The two were huddled under a tired-looking tree at the edge of a park, glancing irritably at the shower of summer rain around them. The huge pellets of water were crashing down so hard that they exploded on impact and formed a light mist around their feet.

"I probably should have checked the weather this morning." Hikaru spoke up helpfully, his tone more conversational than anything else.

Haruhi just sighed in response, wrinkling her nose in surprise when a blob of water suddenly hit her forehead, the rain worming its way through the thin branches above them. She was huddled slightly from the rain, for once actually glad that Hikaru had happily flaunted his money and insisted that he had her shopping delivered straight to her apartment, instead of having to carry it all and hide it from the sudden downpour.

"Time to go home?" She suggested dryly, the first helpful thing either of them had come out with.

When Hikaru failed to answer, she glanced over to her companion to find him staring out at the rain with a strange glint in his eye, his lips twitching slightly into the beginnings of a delighted smirk. He looked like he had just thought up a _brilliant _idea.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes.

Brilliant, of course, meaning annoying, troublesome, and idiotic.

"What?" She ventured suspiciously, cocking an eyebrow when he grinned quirkily over to her and pointed, almost proudly, out at the rain.

"Look. Doesn't it look like the rain is dancing?"

"…Huh?"

"The rain! It's dancing!" He laughed, high off the thrill of finding the silver lining to the disaster-like situation and from the aftermath of the sugary drink.

"It's rain." She deadpanned, unimpressed and apparently completely unaffected by his giddy mood. "It waters the ground and ruins the washing. It does not _dance_."

He snorted in disbelief at her lack of imagination and proceeded to stubbornly point at the rain again, pouting. "It _does_." He insisted, silently adding musingly to himself; _proper dancing too. Not stupid, back-flip-and-swaying-and-hitting-on-Haruhi-with-roses-and-not-wearing-any-freaking-shirts-type street dancing that doesn't even make any freaking sense._

Wondering mildly whether _all _her friends were completely insane, Haruhi finally sighed and gave their surroundings a sceptical glance, blinking the damp mist out of her eyes. She supposed, if you squinted, and gave yourself an over-active imagination, _and _pretended you were a sugar-high Hitachiin, the swirls and cascading shapes the rain made did look a bit like dancing.

She stared for a second as the rain exploded at her feet and caused the mist to tumble and spin around it, before finally allowing a small, bemused smile to tug at her lips as she looked back over at the oldest twin. Hikaru caught her eye and grinned daringly, his face happily flushed as he held out an enthusiastic hand.

"Dance with me, Haruhi."

Haruhi blinked blankly at him, lost. "What…?"

"Dance with me!"

Haruhi was about to flat-out refuse when he suddenly took matters into his own hands and firmly grabbed her hand, tugging her out in the downpour. Ignoring her yelp of protest, as she instantly got soaked, he hurriedly dragged her away from all shelter and into the middle of the abandoned park, muddy water splashing over their shoes. The moment he stopped running, Haruhi promptly yanked her hand free and glared viciously at him, slightly out of breath.

"What the… what the _hell_, Hikaru?!" She spluttered indignantly, the rain plastering her hair to her scalp as she gave him a hard look that clearly said she would happily punch him right in the face if she thought she could actually do some damage.

He stuck his bottom lip out in a melodramatic sulk.

"You need to lighten up, Haruhi!" He retorted obnoxiously, sounding amazingly teacher-like for someone who was just saying the first thing that came to him in the heat of the moment. "We have our whole lives to _work_ and _study _and have no time anything remotely _fun_. Right now, you should give yourself time to relax. You should try to have fun. Like now, with me."

He paused and studied her sceptical look for a second before continuing softly, apparently on a roll; "'Cause it depresses me when you come into school with dark bags under your eyes and I know you've just been up studying until a stupid hour, always worrying about your stupid scholarship even though you're already the top of the year."

At Hikaru's statement Haruhi flushed and cringed, but he instantly covered up the moment by stubbornly offering her his hand again, fat droplets of rain glistening on it. She blinked up at him to see a hopeful and almost cautious smile on his drenched face.

"So dance with me now, Haruhi. It'll be fun, I promise!"

She stared at him.

And then she did something that would mystify her for months to come.

She reached out, and lightly placed her hand in his.

Grinning, Hikaru instantly entwined their fingers and proceeded to dance wildly with her through the shower, never losing his hyperactive pace. Though for the most part Haruhi was just stumbling awkwardly after him, wondering what the hell she was doing, he refused to give up and randomly broke apart to do an impulsive solo, wildly throwing out his limbs and flinging his head back to catch the sweet summer rain on his tongue.

Haruhi's face finally cracked with a bemused smile and he smirked impishly in triumph, before lightly skipping over. He subtly captured her for a second time and span her around, again and again and again.

Then he spun Haruhi back into his arms and she almost collapsed against his chest, grabbing his arm tightly to steady herself.

And she was laughing.

Really laughing, and seemingly unable to help the disbelieving hysterics as her eyes crinkled in pure giddiness. Hikaru grinned happily and laughed along with her, cherishing the moment as he held her blissfully close and skipped around with her, both still getting soaked by the summer shower.

He had never seen Haruhi so happy.

Just happy. Pure, unadulterated happiness seemed to shine from her face, as though, just for this moment, she was finally stopping herself from holding back: as though she was finally letting herself do what everyone else her age loved to do.

Which was, obviously, to _not _act her age.

Hikaru beamed happily at her, the sudden and burning affection rising up insistently again and, caught off-guard, he let it bubble uncontrollably out of his mouth, his quiet words dripping with loving sincerity.

"Haruhi, you're so beautiful."

The moment he said it, he froze in horror.

Blood suddenly rushing madly to his face, he quickly flailed around and half-dragged, half-waltzed Haruhi into a swooping circle around a stone fountain, silently thanking Kami that she didn't seem to have heard him.

Why… why had he said that?!

He swallowed nervously. It wasn't as if he really thought that Haruhi, of all people, was actually beautiful.

But the moment that thought formed in his head, he was overcome with a wave of guilt.

_Well, I think… I suppose she is sort of… extremely… beautiful. I mean, in a way. And only a little bit. Someone else must've noticed that too though, right? I only just noticed it but… that doesn't mean anything. I'll have to ask Kaoru. Someone else must have noticed it too. That she's very… kind of… beautiful. Like, really, really beautiful. Especially right now._

He studied her face hesitantly, and, for some odd reason he didn't understand, a slow smile softly took over his lips.

Kaoru was the most important person in the world to him. That was so obvious that it was a given, something no one half-sane could ever possibly deny. His twin, his little brother, his Kaoru, had been there for him his entire life and he loved him unconditionally.

But now… but now, Haruhi was important to him too. She was becoming more and more precious with each passing day. He desperately tried to brush it off as he fell deeper into his muddled affection, trying to pass his feelings for Haruhi off as the simple attachment you get with friends. Best friends even. But then why…?

Why did it all feel so different?

Why did it all feel so different from anything else he had ever felt before?

He wanted to be there for her, and for her to be there for him.

He wanted no one else to even get close to her, because she didn't belong to anyone else.

He wanted to hold her and touch her lovingly, just because he could.

And he had never felt all of that so strongly for anyone, not even Kaoru.

He flushed and grimaced as a shadow of guilt suddenly stirred in the back of his mind, coupled with a ghostly image of Kaoru, his beloved twin. What would he say if he knew? He had never cared about anyone else so much before, and it almost seemed like he was betraying Kaoru and the isolated little world he had always lived so snugly in because of it. He didn't know exactly what these feelings for Haruhi were, or what they meant, but he knew he cared about her.

But what would Kaoru say?

And then Haruhi suddenly fell back into his arms, dizzy, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her; instantly, everything was blissfully forgotten. He forgot what Kaoru might think. He forgot the unbearable awkwardness. He forgot all the self-conscious doubts.

He just knew he felt like this. And it made him feel wonderful.

He loved feeling like this around her.

Without thinking, he softly pressed his lips against her hair.

It wasn't a date.

But he kind of wished it was.

* * *

Needless to say, the next day the both of them got colds as payment for prancing about in the rain for so long. Kaoru, naturally, thought the whole situation was hilarious and mercilessly laughed his head off at them for a solid half-hour, sniggering every time his twin sneezed in the middle of a lecture (he only didn't laugh at Haruhi's sneezes because she kept glaring murderously at him, and he had grown rather fond of his life).

Hikaru felt that it was still worth it, until he realised that Haruhi blamed him for the entire thing and was refusing to talk to him.

Sigh.

* * *

The moral of this chapter? Though dancing in a summer shower may seem cute and romantic, it's still pretty stupid. Especially if you get ill after. Better luck next time Hika-chan. =3 I hope you all liked this chapter, and I apologise for how long it is. I got carried away with Hikaru and Haruhi's cuteness. o(^.^) //

**Please review and thank you again for reading!~~ =D**

Next chapter is part 1 of their birthday! *o*


	5. The Birthday Second

**The Birthday Second

* * *

**

**A/N:**Next chapter! :D Hope you like it, I apologise if it's not what people expected for the first part of their birthday. No big parties. I'm sorry D: By the way, does anyone else do a 'Hikaru-and-Kaoru' on their birthday and wait for the time they were born? I do! 8D Then I run round screaming 'I'm born! I'm born!'. Ah, good times. XD

**Also! **Thank you very much again to everyone who reads this! Especially Mariel of Fantasy, WorldsAngel and Psyche Eros. **I love you people~~~!** =^.^= Many hugs! 8D

* * *

_Why did I agree to this?_

Haruhi tried to sigh in defeat, but it came out as a slow yawn instead as she sleepily rubbed an eye. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against the end of the one of the twin's beds and hugging her knees to her chest; as she let her chin rest contently on her knees, she glared at the clock in the light of a solitary lamp, willing it to go faster as they waited for Hikaru and Kaoru's '_Birthday second_' to toll by.

Kaoru was sitting cross-legged next to her, placing his chin elegantly on his hands as he smiled mildly at nothing in particular. Hikaru was sprawled on his back on the bed by their heads, hogging the rest of the fizzy sweets and randomly commenting about pictures he could apparently see on their textured ceiling.

To Haruhi's surprise, neither had whined about the time it took before they were 'officially' seventeen, but instead seemed to be quietly enjoying themselves, which she couldn't understand at all.

Hikaru suddenly rolled over lazily and casually placed the small, sweet-less sweet bowl on Haruhi's head like a hat as he glanced over to his twin.

"Hey, Kaoru, there are no more sweets." He whined, apparently feeling in a childish mood (and he was supposed to be the oldest...), pouting at him as Haruhi hurriedly took the bowl off her head, twitching.

"That's because you scoffed them all." Kaoru sniggered as he gently brushed a bit of sugar off Haruhi's head. "You want more, you get more."

"Ah... but I can't be _bothered_..." He sighed dramatically, as though his laziness was a tragic obstacle.

Kaoru scoffed. "Neither can I."

Suddenly feeling their pointed gaze, Haruhi quickly snapped; "If you ask me to get them, I'm going home right now."

There was a short pause.

"I guess we aren't getting any more sweets then."

"I'm sure I can survive the night being sweet-less."

Rolling her eyes, Haruhi went back to glaring at the clock. According to them, Hikaru had been born at exactly 3:05 am, with Kaoru following a full six minutes later at 3: 11 am; she didn't feel the need to question their exact precision with the times.

The small difference was important to them, and Haruhi accepted this wholly and quietly as she watched the second hand tick round.

"Two minutes to go, Hikaru." She commented dozily, her mind wandering sleepily while the older twin grinned in approval at her comment.

"_It's strange to have her sleepover the day _before_ your birthday." _

_Kaoru smiled from the door as he held Haruhi's small bag for her while she slipped her shoes on; they had come to collect her and were, of course, a whole half-hour early so instead of just leaving, they had the pleasure of catching 'Ranka' before he went to work._

"_Well, our parents want to take us out for a meal on the night, so this is really our only chance." The younger twin said as politely as possible to her father's suspicious look; though Ranka admitted to liking the twins, they were still taking no chances and were, for once, showing obvious respect to Haruhi's personal space._

_They almost looked innocent._

_Haruhi inwardly snorted at the thought._

"_And we want to spend our birthday with our best friend." Hikaru went on daringly, with a sheepish grin. As Haruhi mildly wondered why they hadn't mentioned the 'born-in-the-morning-birthday-tradition' reasoning, she heard Hikaru add with just the right amount of sigh, "She never seems to have time for us, what with all that studying she crams in."_

_Of course, that was just the right thing to say for his suspicions to melt away; Ranka often worried about Haruhi studying too much and not relaxing enough. He was delighted that she seemed to be finally having fun at Ouran with her new friends and, as long as these friends remained friends__, he was generally happy with her going out. The calculative twins had chosen their wording just right._

_Rolling her eyes in defeat, Haruhi stood up and said a short goodbye to her father and, after forcing them to promise that '_that blond-haired idiot_' wasn't staying too, Ranka casually waved them off, marvelling at how 'polite' the two seemed._

_Haruhi however, was mentally counting down to the inevitable, just waiting for their innocent act to fade. Sure enough, the moment they turned the corner and escaped her Father's sharp gaze, both twins promptly grabbed her. Hikaru slung a possessive arm around her shoulders and Kaoru wrapped an arm around her waist, both happily squashing her between them in their trademark 'Hitachiin sandwich' move._

_Haruhi sighed slowly and silently bid farewell to her personal space._

"A_HA_!"

"_!!!_" Haruhi jumped wildly at Hikaru's sudden shout that had violently jolted her out of her sleepy doze. She whipped her head round to glare at him to find the oldest twin now standing proudly on the bed, pointing at the clock triumphantly as he beamed like a Cheshire cat.

"I'm born!" The newly seventeen year old announced loudly, but before Haruhi could offer her exasperated congratulations, he smirked wickedly down at his twin. "I'm a year older than you!" He grinned obnoxiously.

_Childish logic... _Haruhi thought to herself in bemusement, glancing over to still-sixteen-Kaoru, who was pouting dramatically.

"Not for long." He sniffed as he glanced back at the clock, ignoring (or attempting to ignore) the provoking smile on Hikaru's face.

"Minor!" Hikaru chanted in an annoyingly singsong voice, spreading his hands out next to his head and sticking his tongue out like some devilish pre-schooler. "_Minor_!"

"Senior!" Kaoru instantly retaliated and, for a second, Haruhi thought she saw a look of familiarity and playful happiness pass over his face before he pouted again, prodding his finger at his brother. "Senior! Old man!"

"I can drive before you!"

"You'll wrinkle before me!"

"I can drink before you!"

"You'll get grey hair before me!"

"I'll be a _legal adult _before you!"

"You'll be a _legal pensioner _before me!"

"_Minor_!"

"_Senior_!"

Haruhi stared in complete disbelief at the utter idiocy and pointlessness of their argument. It was a pretty stupid conversation in any context, but between two _genetically identical twins_, it seemed just that much more _dumb_. However, the both of them seemed very serious about it, and were flawlessly coming up with weirder and wilder 'insults'; Haruhi honestly couldn't see the connection between being six minutes older and having the best taste in shoes, but there you go.

Maybe you had to have the twin's unique brand of stupidity to understand.

Shaking her head slightly in flummoxed confusion, she looked back at the clock and, after they had swapped a few more childish insults (could they really be counted as insults?), she slowly tapped Kaoru on the shoulder. "Happy Birthday." She drawled, her voice completely monotone as she jerked her head towards the time.

He blinked owlishly at her for a second before, after giving the clock a blank glance, grinning widely and jumping up in victory. "I'm seventeen now too!" He announced proudly, scrambling onto the bed himself so he could slap his palm against his brother's, apparently both finding the moment high-five worthy.

Haruhi rolled her eyes as they grinned madly at each other.

_Are they all right in the head...?_

And then she noticed something.

As she looked up at the twins as they began to laugh randomly, their fingers happily entwined, she saw something warm and sincere flash between their eyes that made her blink.

Something soft and caring; their smiles and lingering touch suddenly seemed quietly affectionate and overflowing with an unconditional love that seemed almost blind in its utter devotion. It was as if she could suddenly see their close, loyal bond flowing between their eyes, making their 'brotherly love' act seem like a very watery imitation.

She almost felt like she was looking in on something intimate and private and she was about to glance away when they both suddenly grinned down at her, the adoration never wavering from their eyes.

Instantly, the intimate moment seemed to stretch and loop around her, including her.

Haruhi just blinked owlishly.

And then she suddenly realised why inviting her to spend the morning with them was so important to them, in a moment of brilliant insight.

Before they had met the host club, she knew that they were cut off from the rest of the world, with no friends apart from each other. They had had a very 'closed relationship' so no-one else had ever got close to them, no one else had been there for them to cherish, no-one else had been able to see the differences between them. They were just 'the twins', so identical that it didn't matter to other people which one they talked to.

They were both exactly the same.

So, surely the moment when the first, subtle difference between them was so obvious would be an important moment.

Surely, it would be the moment that they would really celebrate their birthday, more important than any formalities after.

Surely, the pure fact that she had been allowed to spend it with them meant much more than she could possibly understand.

A sudden rush of warm affection swelled in her chest as she stared blankly at the two, at this soft, sweet side of them that she never got to see.

The twins hadn't known her on their birthday last year, as it was before she had joined (forced into, joined, what's the difference?) the host club. But even if she _had_ known them then, she knew that there was no way she would have ever considered sleeping over as she was doing now, no matter how much they persistently annoyed her. Yet, here she was, almost enjoying herself.

Almost glad she came.

It wouldn't have been like that a while ago, when the twins were just her bothersome classmates who seemed to live solely to see how far they could push her.

So... what had changed?

"_No-one's ever spent it with us, but we want you to. Please?"_

"_You... you know you're my best friend, don't you?"_

"_So dance with me now, Haruhi. It'll be fun, I promise!"_

Haruhi paused, and then let an exasperated smile cross her lips as she watched Hikaru grin childishly and try to lovingly ruffle Kaoru's hair (Kaoru retaliated by flicking his brother's forehead). She guessed that, without her noticing, she had grown fond of the two.

How strange.

"Haruhi!" The twins suddenly chorused together, smirking happily down at her and both offering her an enthusiastic hand to help her up onto the bed. "Don't just sit there!"

"Minor." Hikaru added for good measure.

"_I suppose you and Kaoru count as my best friends. Even though you're the most annoying people I know."_

There was no 'suppose' about it.

They were important to her. So, so important, they almost seemed precious.

Though Haruhi remained oblivious, their expecting hands now seemed like the last invitation; she had been forever dancing elusively around the edge of their isolated little world, dodging in and touching them deeper than anyone else ever had before and then brushing them off and standing far out of their reach again. But they didn't want her to leave anymore.

Haruhi rolled her eyes slightly at Hikaru's teasing comment, unable to help the soft smile on her face.

She was the first person in the world they wanted to completely tangle their lives with.

Kaoru beamed widely at her expression while Hikaru fought down a warm blush.

She was the first person in the world they had let in on their birthday tradition.

"Happy Birthday." She said simply as she accepted their hands, letting them happily entwine their fingers with hers as they pulled her up.

She was the first person in the world to sweetly capture a cynical Hitachiin heart.

And they loved her for it.


	6. A Beautiful Thing

**A Beautiful Thing**

**A/N: **Last chapter! I hope you like it! 8D And if you don't know who Jedward are… Shame on you. Youtube them now. XD They rock~~~

Enjoy~!

* * *

When me and Hikaru swapped presents, I found that he'd got me a writing set. Like I thought. Course, I don't want Hikaru to know that I knew what it was ages ago, so, apart from shooting Haruhi a smug look, I do my best to act completely and utterly surprised.

...

Okay, maybe I _kind of _overdo it.

My first present from Hikaru: A new writing set.

My response: "Oh my God, a _writing set_! I had _no_ idea, Hikaru, how _did _you get it? Just what I wanted! Oh god, this is _such _a surprise, I may just faint from the shock of it!"

Hikaru's response: "Screw you."

My second present from Hikaru: An orange I-pod.

My response: "Cool, thanks Hika—why the hell have you put loads of _80's_ songs on it? Bro, your taste in music is freaky... and... who's Jedward?"

Hikaru's response: "The sound of the future."

Hikaru's present from me: A new digital camera with all the extras.

Hikaru's response: "…Why do you always know what I'm getting you, but I can't guess what you're getting me…?"

My response: "I must be the clever twin. I have the brains for both of us."

Hikaru scowls grumpily at this and I snigger at him as he mutters something crudely under his breath.

The three of us are currently lolling lazily in our room in the soft morning light, muffling yawns and rubbing our eyes sleepily despite our active chatter; we had forced ourselves to wake up early before Mom came bubbling in to wish us a 'Happy Birthday' as she left for work (we wouldn't see dad until later) but frankly we couldn't be _bothered_ to physically _get up_, so we were just sitting by the crease between my and Hikaru's beds (they were pushed together, as always).

Haruhi was on Hikaru's bed, half swathed in his sheet as she smiled a little dopily at our present swap, looking utterly exhausted. Though we had faithfully made her up a bed in the guest room down the hall like we promised, Haruhi hadn't managed to get that far. When we had finally announced 'bed time' last night, she had collapsed, half-asleep, on his bed and we had thought it best just to leave her there; though I can't really blame her for being so tired.

We _had_ kept her up until past three in the morning after a school day, and then engaged her in an hour-long jump-on-the-bed-athon (she was _slightly_ unwilling, but we still forced her to jump anyway. It was easy; I grabbed her arms, and Hikaru grabbed her legs. Need I say more?) which _strangely_ provoked her to nearly murdering us with our own alarm clock (us laughing our heads off at the time probably didn't help).

I could have teased her about the fact she fell asleep in Hikaru's bed instead of attempting the long trek down the hall, but I was honestly too honoured that she felt so relaxed in our presence to break her strangely tranquil air.

That and I was saving all my teasing abilities for my _oh_-so-stupid twin.

The look on his face when he had woken up to find Haruhi so close to him was priceless; I could practically see the horrified assumptions spinning round his head as he jumped backwards, almost fell off the bed, and swore at the top of his voice. It still took him a few moments of staring blankly at me killing myself laughing before he, red faced, remembered the events of last night and finally sat back down meekly and mumbled an apology to an irritated Haruhi, whom he had rudely awoken.

As Haruhi had claimed Hikaru's bed, we had both piled into mine and had spent the rest of the night (morning?) half-lying on each other and wrestling for the cover (which took serious skill to do, as my cover is almost twice as big as my bed). I had woken up to find Hikaru's elbow in my face so had abruptly woken him up by shoving him off me. Which had, in turn, caused him to wake up Haruhi.

Hey! We were like dominos!

Momentarily amused by this thought (lack of sleep undoubtedly melting my brain), I presently glance over to Hikaru, to find him absentmindedly balancing all the parts of his present in a tower, the expensive camera wobbling dangerously at the top, guarded by only its case. I take the tower as a sign that he likes it and smile smugly over to Haruhi again. She smiles back slowly, looking completely exasperated.

"Ah! Haruhi!" I speak up suddenly, peering at her impishly. "Can we have our presents now? I want my Haruhi present~!"

"Haruhi present~! Haruhi present~!" Hikaru adds helpfully, smirking as he eyes the bag she had placed firmly behind her with a warning of '_Jump on it and you'll regret it_'.

Rolling her eyes dramatically at Hikaru's eager look, she finally reaches behind her and places the bumpy bag on her lap, looking almost apprehensive. "You shouldn't be so exited." She warns with a frown. "It's nothing much--"

"_Haruhi-made commoner presents~~_!"

"_Haruhi-made commoner presents~~_!"

Haruhi twitches.

"…Why are all morons attracted to me…?" She sighs, and, though I obviously know what she innocently means to imply, I can't help but think of both Hikaru and Tamaki and have to agree. _Haruhi's a moron magnet…_

"Uh… this is for Kaoru." She mutters, pausing to consider it before finally taking it out, a small, expecting smile on her face.

She's holding a black rectangular box, held closed with a simple hoop latch. Though it gives the air of once being sleek and pristine, it now looks slightly grubby and used; this however, takes nothing away from it's appeal. Instead of looking old, it just looks loved, and you can tell someone's had a fair shot at cleaning it up, which makes me feel quite honoured.

I beam in delighted recognition the moment I see it and I can't help laughing happily. Hikaru however, looks completely stumped.

"You… got Kaoru a box?"

I roll my eyes. "There's something _inside_ the box, Sherlock."

"…Ah…"

Looking quite relived that at least _I_ got what it is, Haruhi smiles and goes to hand it over, but before she has the chance I quickly shuffle over to her and happily pull her into a hug. Her eyes twitch in exasperation as I nuzzle her neck, sniggering.

"Aw, thank you, Haruhi~!" I sing, grinning in elated disbelief. "But you know, I was only kidding about that bet."

She shrugs and shifts the box to her other hand so it doesn't get squashed, completely nonchalant to the fact she's being hug-attacked. I guess she's kind of used to it. "Obviously. I just couldn't think of anything else, and it seemed like a safe option." She reasoned, casually. "Just as long as you like it."

I open my mouth to assure her that it was '_the best present ever~!_' but my twin suddenly interrupts me, sounding obnoxiously annoyed.

"What _is_ it?!" Hikaru snaps impatiently and I glance back at him to find him glaring at the box like he wants to jump on it and find out what it is by _force_. I snort at him which just makes his bottom lip jut out even further in an irritated sulk.

Obviously, he doesn't like being the only one not getting the joke.

Well, either that or he's just in a sulk because I'm getting a Haruhi-hug and he isn't. I inwardly shake my head in amusement at the thought. Hikaru isn't _that_ childish…

…Honest he isn't. He just…

…I mean…

He…

Uh…

…

Ah, forget it.

Rolling my eyes, I draw away from her and primly take the box out of Haruhi's hands, holding it up to display to Hikaru like a trophy.

"It," I announced, pausing dramatically for effect (Haruhi sighed), "is a bento box!"

"Ooooh~" He coos in recognition, the irritation leaking from his face as quickly as it appeared, and a grin flawlessly taking its place.

As I hold it up heroically and Hikaru happily begins to clap, Haruhi snorts and mumbles something darkly under her breath; I'd like to think it was something nice like 'Hikaru and Kaoru are amazing' or 'That bento box is full of my lovey-dovey love-love', but somehow I have a sneaking feeling it's not. Still, one can dream.

Smirking (partly at Hikaru, partly at my present, and partly at the weird mental image of Haruhi actually saying the words 'lovey-dovey love-love'), I fall back down next to my brother and neatly slip a finger into the hoop so I can pull it open.

"Let me see, let me see~!"

"No. Shove off."

"Ne, you suck, Kaoru."

"Mm, love you too."

I slap away Hikaru's hand as he tries to molest it, and happily begin looking at all the homey food she's placed in there, making a comforting palette of red and browns, green and whites; it looks so neat and cute that I almost don't want to touch it, never mind eat it. There's a few pristine onigiri on one side, plain clean rice and a secret filling, each one individually wrapped in dark seaweed. The rest is an 'organised' muddle of small meats and vegetables, all simplistic yet colourfully seasoned. I spot a small, square piece of light sugar paper tucked in the corner and carefully take it out to read 'Happy birthday' in Haruhi's neat writing.

I smile happily and cast an eye over Haruhi's perfect cooking and clumsy presentation, smirking slightly as I make a mental note to take a picture of it to mock _people_ with later. I can't wait to see Tono's face when he hears about this…

"And this is for you, Hikaru."

Eagerly, I quickly glance up from my (adorable) bento box to find Haruhi slowly taking another smaller box out of her bag, Hikaru suddenly grinning lopsidedly like a goofy puppy. She frowns at it uncertainly for a second before finally handing it over with a polite smile. As Hikaru quickly grabs it and enthusiastically stuffs a fingernail under the rim to prise it open (still beaming from ear to ear), I promptly attack his shoulder, leaning over him to get a better a look at his present.

For some reason, I hear Haruhi sigh.

He finally gets the lid off and we both happily look inside.

It's a cake.

A smallish cake, just enough for three people, made out of fluffy, treacle-coloured sponge and sandwiched together with moist, rich (heh heh) butter cream. The top has a smooth layer of cream as well and on it, in contrast to her brilliant baking, her less-than-artistic hand had clumsily written on 'Happy Birthday' in thin, white icing.

I can't help but laugh.

It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Apart from my awesome bento box of awesomeness that is.

As Haruhi frowns at me and snaps that she never _proclaimed_ to be good at cake-decorating, I look fondly at my twin's face, already knowing what I'll see.

His face is bright with pure, smug delight and there's a light blush on his cheeks as he beams adoringly up at Haruhi.

He looks like someone in love.

I used to think he was a little bit dim when it came to his own emotions.

Then, a few days ago, he said something that actually managed to change my mind. He admitted that he might, just _might_, maybe could have a _tiny bit _of a little _sort of _crush on Haruhi. Maybe.

His exact words.

So now, I just think he's an idiot.

He's _my_ idiot, but still a complete and utter idiot nonetheless.

Whether Hikaru wants to face up to it**/**stop being Mr. Blind or not, I can tell he's silently fallen completely head over heels for her. I wasn't sure how to react to it at first, when his subconscious feelings just seemed like a huge blow to our entire way of looking at life; like he was suddenly chasing the very thing that had terrified us all our lives.

But then, as Haruhi began to dance closer into our world, and into our hearts, I realised something.

Love was good.

Hikaru's freefall into love for someone who wasn't already unconditionally his was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him. He's learning to love, and to care, and together we're becoming more independent until we're almost catching up with everyone else.

We're still clasping each other's hands tightly, scared we'll fall, scared we'll get hurt, but we're finally opening up our individual selves to people and working out how to get by on our own; Haruhi's ways of steadfast and bold independence must have been subconsciously rubbing off on us, just as our ways have been rubbing off on her.

No, I don't mean Haruhi's suddenly been torturing Milord and cackling like a maniac when people get things wrong. But she _has_ been more light-hearted lately, which is a good start.

She'll be torturing people in no time.

I'm suddenly torn from my thoughtful musing by Hikaru leaning over to her, and for one wild second I think he's actually going to _kiss_ her; but, as expected, he doesn't. He just places his forehead sweetly against hers and grins happily at her, his face flushed a deep pink. Haruhi only responds by frowning in confusion.

"Thank you, Haruhi. I… love it. Really." He smiles sincerely before adding teasingly; "Even though the writing's all smudged and I can hardly read it."

Then he beams affectionately at her, still blushing from being so close, and I can't help but roll my eyes.

And he thinks his feelings for Haruhi only stretch to a _tiny bit _of a little _sort of _crush. Moron.

"Thought you might." She mumbles with a hasty eye-roll, ducking away from his touch and frowning down at the floor, her voice unusually quiet. Watching this in bemusement, I quickly come to a conclusion;

Either Haruhi's just heartlessly brushed off my brother's loving flirt, or she's developed a new type of Haruhi-style fluster (because Haruhi can't get flustered normally. She has to be difficult).

Just in case, I raise my eyebrows and smirk suggestively at her as our eyes catch each other, flickering my look questioningly over to Hikaru, who's just sitting there smiling dopily to himself, blissfully oblivious. Her frown deepens in annoyance and she hurriedly busies herself with the cake, worryingly butter-fingered as she snatches it out of Hikaru's hands and mutters something about cutting it up for all of us to eat.

Heh, heh...

She's so cute.

Have I mentioned that before?

As Haruhi quickly shifts over to the cake, I glance over to Hikaru, to find my dear twin glancing over at me at the exact same moment. We grin at each other.

Hikaru and I are so similar that we are unmistakably a pair; an iron clad set that works perfectly as one.

Hikaru and I are so different that our differences lock together flawlessly to create one whole person.

We are exactly the same. But we are entirely different.

This is absolute.

And we've finally found someone who completely understands.

We've found someone who understands the little ins-and-outs of our strange, devoted relationship. We've found someone who sees perfectly the subtle differences between us and seems to cherish them as the things that make us who we are. We've found someone who understands that we're a solid pair and nothing will ever change that.

She understands.

And we love her for it.

But of course, I'm now smart enough to see that she won't be alone.

The rest of host club accept us wholly and unconditionally, and I know that one day we'll find someone else who can appreciate us as the individual people yet joined pair we are. I'm quietly and contently confident in the fact we're going to enter the world and those special people will somehow wander into our path.

But Haruhi was the first. The first to understand us and break into our little hidden world. The first to stay there snugly with us but still drag us out, kicking and screaming, into harsh reality when we tried to run away from it.

Haruhi will always be precious to us. So, so precious.

We'll never let her go.

Though I know our love for her is slightly different.

I shift over to Hikaru and teasingly pat his still-blushing cheek, smirking fondly.

But as amazing as Haruhi is, she'll never be able to truly come between us and break our special bond. We love each other too much for that, and we need each other too much. If I think that anything can ever come between us, I obviously don't trust our love very much.

We still depend completely on each other, and we always will, in a way. But now it's slightly different.

Now we can find other people to love too.

It's a beautiful thing.

I smile at him and go to speak but I find a hand instantly clamped firmly on my mouth, Hikaru's eyes twinkling mischievously as I blink at him, bewildered. Sniggering, he ruffles my hair annoyingly with his free hand (a new habit of his. I don't like it... which is probably why he does it. Sigh) and gives me a smug grin, looking somewhat chuffed with himself.

"You always say it first." He pouts, sticking his lip out in a mock-sulk as he slowly lets his hand drop. "I'm saying it first this year."

Finally getting what he's going on about, I snort but stay faithfully silent, cocking an expectant eyebrow. I think Haruhi's looking over, a slow smile on her lips, but I try to keep my eyes locked on Hikaru as he gives me a suspicious look, as though he expects me to quickly blurt it out first before he gets the chance; though, of course, I would never do that to him.

I'd have to deal with him sulking for ages later.

Finally, my big brother, my twin, my Hikaru, beams happily at me and I can't help but grin back.

"Happy Birthday Kaoru!"

* * *

**Finished! **:D I do hope you enjoyed it! =^.^= I enjoyed linking the last chapter to the first. Because I'm a nerd. 8]

As much as I like the Kaoru/Haruhi pairing, I love Kaoru in the Hikaru/Haruhi pairing. =3 Teasing his brother and always cooing about how cute they are. XD 'Cute' should totally be Kaoru's catchphrase. Since he's pretty darn cute himself. ;] Have you noticed… that throughout the manga… Kaoru has… become… _even cuter_~~~~? 8D I love his 'Le gasp!' face. =3 Ah, and Hikaru's just adorable too :D As is our Haruhi, the subconscious flirt…

To conclude, they're all gosh-darn adorable.

Ah… what was I talking about again…? Distracted… by… cute… D:

Uh…

This is my thought process. **Fear it. **8D

Anyway. Thank you very, very, _very_ much for reading (and I mean that seriously - it makes me so happy when people take notice of my stories) and I hope you will continue to support me in my never-ending endeavour to write readable fiction. o(^o^)//

**Buh-bye~~!**


End file.
